The AI Mythos: If We Can Destroy the World, Imagine What We Can Do for Your Hedge Fund
You ever wonder why people who make AI talk about how AI might destroy humanity—but still keep making AI? Here’s a plausible explanation.
‘Five Prices for the Same Product Is Price Manipulation’:
CounterSpin interview with Derek Kravitz on dynamic pricing
“No one really knows that this is going on, and no one can really see behind the curtain how this algorithmic pricing works in practice.”
Derek Kravitz on Dynamic Pricing
While some states look into banning it, so-called algorithmic or “dynamic” pricing is being presented by the corporate press as a fait accompli.
‘Is It Worth Running a Race Where the Prize Is Some Dystopian Future?’:
CounterSpin interview with Mitch Jones on AI vs. environment
“All of the changes that happen economically that are going to harm the most of us and enrich a few of the others are sold to us as inevitable.”
Derek Seidman on Starbucks Strike, Mitch Jones on AI vs. Environment
Even Forbes has to acknowledge that even as the Starbucks strike “drags” into a second month, “global support grows.”
‘They Are Trying to Maximize the Amount of Money They Can Get Any Given Consumer to Pay’:
CounterSpin interview with Katya Schwenk on AI surveillance pricing
“Consumers don’t actually have very much choice in many of these circumstances. So it’s not like they’re able to choose a lower fare from a competitor, often.”
Jeffrey Stein on Trump’s Boat Attacks, Katya Schwenk on AI Surveillance Pricing
Corporate reporters scratch their heads over how this bombing campaign might be legal, rather than discussing what tools can respond to wildly illegal actions.
AI Job Loss Hype Could Serve as Smokescreen for Trump Recession
Corporate outlets are already seeding the ground for the Trump administration to blame external factors for poor labor market performance.
‘The Design of These Systems Keeps People in Opposition to Each Other’:
CounterSpin interview with Hatim Rahman on algorithms and labor
“If you are the one who is being evaluated, it’s not only you don’t know the criteria, but it could be changing.”
Skip the Last Two Paragraphs—and Other Time-Saving Tips for Healthcare News Consumers
Media coverage of private health insurance fails primarily because of an unwillingness to bluntly dismiss meaningless policy solutions.
‘We Have to Do the Hard Work of Looking at Context’
Transcript of The Best of CounterSpin 2023
The best of CounterSpin for 2023 is only a sample of the valuable conversations it’s been our pleasure to host this year.
The Dystopian AI Future Some Fear Is the Present-Day Reality Others Live
Some people’s dystopian fears for the future are in fact the dystopian histories and contemporary realities of many other people.
In AI Regulation Coverage, Media Let Lawmakers off the Hook
“Everyone Wants to Regulate AI. No One Can Agree How,” Wired (5/26/23) proclaimed earlier this year. The headline resembled one from the New Yorker (5/20/23) published just days prior, reading “Congress Really Wants to Regulate AI, but No One Seems to Know How.” Each reflected an increasingly common thesis within the corporate press: Policymakers […]
‘Ill-Equipped,’ ‘1950s’ Pentagon Needs an Expensive Upgrade, Media Insist
News outlets routinely caution that the Pentagon needs billions of dollars’ worth of improvements to systems, personnel and technology.
